Dyslexia is An Invisible Communication Barrier

Why Genuine Support Beats So-Called ‘Help’ Every Time

When we talk about accessibility, we often think about ramps or automated captions. But there’s a silent barrier that millions of us face every day.

Information Inaccessibility

For people living with dyslexia, the world is often designed as a giant, complex, hideous obstacle course of supposedly easily accessible written information.

From confusing application forms to dense policy documents, the ‘information barrier’ can make someone feel like a ‘second-class citizen’, even within their own community.

At IC Works, we don’t just see dyslexia as a reading challenge. We see it as a design challenge.

If a service is too hard to understand, it isn’t truly accessible

Proving the ‘Old School’ Experts Wrong: Shaun’s Story

Our very own Shaun Webster MBE is the perfect example of why we should never let labels define potential.

Shaun grew up in the ‘not-very-enlightened 70s’ and was told repeatedly by his own father that because of his learning disability and dyslexia:

“Shaun, you’ll never have a job, and you’ll never live independently”.

Shaun proved everyone wrong

He describes his life’s journey as one where he’s overcome all the obstacles dyslexia and speech issues have put in front of him and has managed to thrive in the 2020s.

He told the Mayor of Rotherham how he navigated a life beset with seemingly insurmountable disabilities to become the internationally renowned advocate for information accessibility that he is today.

Shaun’s philosophy is very simple:

People in his situation aren’t asking for ‘help’: they just want our support.

As he often says, he can now and does use his personal life experience to give others a voice so they can make their own decisions and help others do the same.

The Innovation of Necessity: The Video CV

How does someone with dyslexia navigate a recruitment system designed for people who love writing long essays?

They change the system

Because Shaun’s dyslexia made it incredibly difficult to complete standard, jargon-heavy application forms, he had a ‘gamechanger’ idea: the Video CV.

By recording his skills and life story rather than typing them out, he landed a job at St Mary's Hospital, that resulting in him holding three paid roles.

This is exactly how IC Works operates.

We take the ‘innovation of necessity’ and turn it into a professional service for organisations that want to be truly Disability Confident.

How IC Works Supports Dyslexic Thinkers

We believe that thinking differently - whether because of learning disabilities, dyslexia, autism, or ADHD – opens up a generally unrecognised opportunity to make a genuine contribution to both one’s own personal success potential and that of everyone else

That’s why our approach is different:

• Co-produced by Humans: We work with experts by experience like Shaun to ensure our Easy Read documents, videos, and websites actually work for the people using them

• Reducing Cognitive Load: We move beyond ‘Plain English’ or ‘Plain Language’ (we also offer this, but we ‘do it right’) to visually supported information that doesn't overwhelm

• Multi-Format Choice: Whether it is Audio Easy Read (letting people hear the voice of the author) or accessible video, we provide choices that bypass the traditional ‘reading barrier’

Let’s Turn Understanding into Freedom

No one should feel like a prisoner in their own home - or be locked out of a career – just because information is too hard to understand

Whether you are a local authority, a healthcare provider, or an employer

Your information is your front door. Is it open to everyone?

Ready to remove the information barrier?

Get in touch with IC-Works today to co-produce information that empowers everyone to succeed